Kerala forms SIT to examine ED allegations against Vijayan

Kerala has formed a Special Investigation Team to examine Enforcement Directorate allegations of bribery and hawala transfers involving Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan and members of his family, with a formal police case to be registered only if investigators find concrete evidence, according to a September 23 report. The team will be led by SP Vikraman and supervised by Crime Branch ADGP H Venkatesh. The government has instructed it to assess the initial findings within a stipulated timeframe. The reported allegations concern Vijayan, his daughter T Veena, her husband P A Mohamed Riyas and several of Riyas’s associates. The team’s formation follows the government’s decision, announced a day earlier, to have police examine an ED report seeking action under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the decision followed legal advice from the Advocate General and discussions with Chief Minister V D Satheesan. The September 22 accounts described the inquiry as preliminary and said no FIR had been registered at that stage. The ED alleges that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd, or CMRL, paid Rs 2.